Odysseus Meets a Gundam
by Sid Ramone
Summary: I wrote this for an English assignment where I had to make a story up about Odysseus (from the Odyssey). So he meets one of the gundam pilots.


Body Odysseus felt tranquil walking through the forest, even though he did not tell his crew of his departure from their camp. The moon was as bright as one lit candle in an opaque sky. The small chirps of hidden bugs reminded Odysseus of his home, dearest Penelope, and the obstacles he had yet to conquer. Suddenly, the candle is blown out of the sky and darkness overwhelmed Odysseus. 

Odysseus did not know where the darkness had emanated. A square shaped window made itself known by flashing pictures on its surface. The pictures in the image window were going so fast Odysseus could not follow. 

"Oh, Gods of Mt. Olympus, what are you trying to tell me?" Odysseus wailed. 

Odysseus hoped for an answer, but he received no reply. The image window made Odysseus feel insane. The small black room did not help, either. Odysseus could no longer bare it and screamed loud enough to break a thick, concrete wall. 

Then, it stopped. There was no more image window or tiny, black cubicle which Odysseus had seen only seconds before. The sun was bright as a fire being forced upon him. The tint of the grass was greener than Odysseus had ever seen, and flowers of violet, yellow, pink, and red dotted the hills. The blossoms revived the thoughts of dearest Penelope. He had to find a way home from this beautiful place, but he did not know how. 

"Mighty Zeus, I beg of you to bring me a message that will tell me the path home," Odysseus asked. 

As if his prayer had been answered, a shadow passed over Odysseus. Thinking the shadow was nothing but a storm cloud sent from Poseidon, Odysseus did not acknowledge the cloud, instead he looked for a place to hide, to plan an offense. However, the shadow of the cloud traveled for such a long distance that Odysseus became curious. He decided to turn around and face this unknown entity. Odysseus was shocked by what he found. 

A god, a demon, whatever it was, stood one thousand men tall. Its massive shoulders blocked out the sun. The clothes it wore shone like a prism of many colors. 

"Zeus, is this a god you have sent to me? Will he show me the way home?" Odysseus queried. 

A reply did not come, for as Odysseus finished his question, the great belly of the god opened. Odysseus was startled as he saw a human form or, for all he knew, another god emerge. This individual dropped ever so slowly to the ground which Odysseus was standing on. 

Odysseus diverted his eyes from the human form, and questioned, "Child of this God like Cronus, tell me who you may be, and are there any other siblings trapped in the God like Cronus?" 

The person was puzzled by the strange, old man who appeared insane. However, he played along, saying, "I am the God of the Dead, and I have no other siblings trapped in the God like Cronus, which is actually a Gundam." 

"God of the De-" 

"Just call me Duo," said Duo. "By the way, I haven't learned your name yet." 

"God of the Dead-" 

"Duo." 

"Duo, I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, king of Ithaca, and may I ask what a Gundam is?" 

"Sure," Duo said. "It is like the horse you thought up to defeat the Trojans," remembering his English lesson from a year ago. "I wait in it, then attack my enemies." 

Duo waited for the explanation to sink into Odysseus's head and then added, "Do you need anything?" 

Odysseus nodded his head and spoke, "I was on my journey home, when I arrived on your island, without knowing how, or how to get back to my home." 

Odysseus paused and, being pessimistic, asked, "God of the Dead, does this mean I have perished from my world? Will I be sent to Hades? Can you send me home?" 

"Well, you will not be going to Hades, and I will try every technique to get you back home," Duo explained. 

Odysseus, less terrified, lifted his head to look at the God of the Dead. Odysseus observed a teenage boy dressed in black pants and shirt, with a white collar. He also noticed that Duo had his long, brown hair braided like a horse's tail. 

"Forgive me, but your hair?" Odysseus began. 

"What about my hair?" the God of the Dead said defensively. 

"Your hair is like ...uh... that of a fair princess," Odysseus said pleasantly, relieved that he caught what he really was going to say quick enough. 

However, Duo's face became as red as a ripe tomato. Odysseus saw Duo's fists tighten and teeth grit. Odysseus started to regret what he had said. 

"Excuse me, Ody." 

"Odysseus," gulped Odysseus. 

"Did you just compare me to a princess?" Duo said angrily. 

Odysseus began inching back slowly, and tried to think of a comeback. The God of the Dead was enraged. He wanted to know why it was that people always had to mention his similarities to a female. 

"Yes. I compared you to a princess." Odysseus felt better that he had told the truth to Duo, but Duo was still not calming down. 

"Get this straight, Ody, I am a _boy_, not to be confused with a _girl_," Duo said furiously. 

"But you do look like a girl," Odysseus said without thinking. 

Like a flash, Duo punched Odysseus in the nose. Pain shot through Odysseus's face, but it was soon forgotten when Duo landed a kick in his stomach. Odysseus attempted to protect himself, but this small god had more power than Odysseus thought was possible for such a puny, little body. 

After the agony was gone from Odysseus's body, he stood up, with tears rolling down his face. He was now truly sorry that he had ever thought that the God of the Dead's hair looked like a horse's or pointing out his resemblance to a woman. 

"I am deeply sorry about my remark," Odysseus apologized. "But can you please tell me the direction back to my island?" 

Duo looked at Odysseus and frowned. However, Duo did think of a way to send Odysseus back. With a smirk, Duo said, "Close your eyes and think happy thoughts." 

Odysseus closed his eyes. His thoughts consisted of his home, dearest Penelope, and the beautiful flowers. Odysseus opened his eyes to find he was back where it all started. The moon was above his head, and the crickets were singing in the distance. Odysseus wondered if he should tell his crew about his experience with the God of the Dead and his immense father, which he remembered Duo had said was "his Gundam." However, he did not utter a word. Thinking it merely a dream, Odysseus would soon forget that the event ever happened. 

Meanwhile, in the future, Duo Maxwell is recovering from being met by one of the greatest characters from any literary work. "I can't believe it," Duo says amazed. "I just had a conversation with Odysseus." He leans back, resting on the enormous metal foot of his Gundam. "The boys will never believe it." 

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___DISCLAIMER: The character Duo Maxwell (the God of the Dead), his hair, and his Gundam are not mine. They are from the Japanese TV show "Gundam Wing" created by Yoshiyuki Tomino. I only used them for the sole purpose of addressing my theme. Odysseus isn't mine either._


End file.
